James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. Hughes had many odd jobs as he grew into adulthood, but in 1924 when he moved to Washington D.C., he published his first book of Poetry, The Weary Blues, and from then on, Hughes went to write "novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry". In 1930, Hughes won the Harmon gold medal for Literature with his first novel, Not Without Laughter. Hughes used Walt Whitman, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Carl Sandburg as his main influences in his writings. Many of Hughes' poems discussed the racial struggle between Blacks and Whites from the 20's through the 60's. Unfortunately, Hughes had complications with prostate cancer; thus, he died on May 22, 1967.
Samples of His Work:
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.
As I Grew Older
It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose slowly, slowly,
Dimming,
Hiding,
The light of my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
The South
The lazy, laughing South
With blood on its mouth.
The sunny-faced South,
Beast-strong,
Idiot-brained.
The child-minded South
Scratching in the dead fire's ashes
For a Negro's bones.
Cotton and the moon,
Warmth, earth, warmth,
The sky, the sun, the stars,
The magnolia-scented South.
Beautiful, like a woman,
Seductive as a dark-eyed whore,
Passionate, cruel,
Honey-lipped, syphilitic--
That is the South.
And I, who am black, would love her
But she spits in my face.
And I, who am black,
Would give her many rare gifts
But she turns her back upon me.
So now I seek the North--
The cold-faced North,
For she, they say,
Is a kinder mistress,
And in her house my children
May escape the spell of the South.
Sport
Life For him Must be The shivering of A great drum Beaten with swift sticks Then at the closing hour The lights go out And there is no music at all And death becomes An empty cabaret And eternity an unblown saxophone And yesterday A glass of gin Drunk long Ago.
Justification:
Langston Hughes is my favorite poet because I enjoy reading about the various topics he discusses in his poetry, and I find his works easy to comprehend and analyze. He uses a simplistic style of writing that is effective yet enjoyable to read. He is clear in his writing what he hopes to get across to his audience, and I believe he does a great job at doing so, and his poems usually are short and to the point which I enjoy in poetry.
Biography:
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. Hughes had many odd jobs as he grew into adulthood, but in 1924 when he moved to Washington D.C., he published his first book of Poetry, The Weary Blues, and from then on, Hughes went to write "novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry". In 1930, Hughes won the Harmon gold medal for Literature with his first novel, Not Without Laughter. Hughes used Walt Whitman, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Carl Sandburg as his main influences in his writings. Many of Hughes' poems discussed the racial struggle between Blacks and Whites from the 20's through the 60's. Unfortunately, Hughes had complications with prostate cancer; thus, he died on May 22, 1967.
Samples of His Work:
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
As I Grew Older
It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose slowly, slowly,
Dimming,
Hiding,
The light of my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
The South
The lazy, laughing South
With blood on its mouth.
The sunny-faced South,
Beast-strong,
Idiot-brained.
The child-minded South
Scratching in the dead fire's ashes
For a Negro's bones.
Cotton and the moon,
Warmth, earth, warmth,
The sky, the sun, the stars,
The magnolia-scented South.
Beautiful, like a woman,
Seductive as a dark-eyed whore,
Passionate, cruel,
Honey-lipped, syphilitic--
That is the South.
And I, who am black, would love her
But she spits in my face.
And I, who am black,
Would give her many rare gifts
But she turns her back upon me.
So now I seek the North--
The cold-faced North,
For she, they say,
Is a kinder mistress,
And in her house my children
May escape the spell of the South.
Sport
Life
For him
Must be
The shivering of
A great drum
Beaten with swift sticks
Then at the closing hour
The lights go out
And there is no music at all
And death becomes
An empty cabaret
And eternity an unblown saxophone
And yesterday
A glass of gin
Drunk long
Ago.
Justification:
Langston Hughes is my favorite poet because I enjoy reading about the various topics he discusses in his poetry, and I find his works easy to comprehend and analyze. He uses a simplistic style of writing that is effective yet enjoyable to read. He is clear in his writing what he hopes to get across to his audience, and I believe he does a great job at doing so, and his poems usually are short and to the point which I enjoy in poetry.
Poetry Recitation
Works Cited
Hunter, Langston Hughes - Poem. "Dreams Poem." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
"Langston Hughes." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.